Life As A Halliwell
by AML15
Summary: A look at the lives of the Charmed One's children all grown up. They deal with love, losses, and all of life's little tricks. Oh and then there's the demon fighting...
1. Chapter 1

**This is my take on the future Halliwells. i am really proud of this one. Let me know what you think.  
**

**Piper + Leo:**

**Wyatt Matthew Halliwell - 25**

**Christopher Perry Halliwell - 23**

**Melinda Penelope Halliwell - 18**

**Phoebe + Coop:**

**Prudence Alexandria Halliwell - 21**

**Portia Marie Halliwell - 19**

**Phoenix Renee Halliwell - 15**

**Paige + Henry:**

**Henry Warren Halliwell* - 20**

**Sophie Grace Halliwell - 18**

**Scarlet Patricia Halliwell - 18**

***Henry jr. goes by his middle name Warren so he won't be confused with his dad.**

* * *

Chapter 1

A group of eight young witches orbed to their family attic. Each of them had battle wounds and minor scrapes, but nothing serious. As soon as they arrived, Wyatt instantly grabbed his sister's bleeding arm and healed it. Mel shot him an annoyed look that he got often. He smiled in response. He knew he was too protective of her, but that was something she was going to have to live with. After all, she was only eighteen. That was hardly an adult by many standards, especially in their world of dangerous fighting and other risks.

Scarlet threw herself down on the couch and let out a content sigh. "I love my job. There's nothing like the thrill of kicking demon ass." She saw her twin Sophie roll her eyes. Scarlet ignored the gesture and began to examine the deep cut on her leg that was sure to leave a scar. Chris noticed it too.

"You want me to heal that, Scarlet?" He offered. All the half-whitelighters in the family were doing a check up on everyone as was the habit after a battle. Wyatt had already taken care of Warren and Portia after Mel. Scarlet studied the cut that was still bleeding. It was stinging pretty bad.

"No thanks. I think I'll keep this one. It'll make for a great story." Scarlet was the only one who every now and then refused to be healed. The girl liked her battle scars.

"I'm glad you all had fun without me…_again_." The voice came from the other side of the room. Fifteen-year-old Phoenix was flipping through the book of shadows for no reason at all other than the fact that she got bored waiting for them to return. It was obvious to everyone that she was in one of her moods again. Only Prue made an attempt to cheer her up.

"You only need to wait one more year, Phoenix. Less than a year, in fact." Prue placed hand gently on her baby sister's shoulder, but Phoenix shrugged it off. She was in no mood to be consoled. Prue put her hands up in surrender and walked away.

As the youngest of all the cousins, Phoenix was spoiled by everyone growing up. They all loved her and knew she was the last Halliwell for their generation. She hadn't minded being the youngest until she was a twelve. The Halliwell Rule, which had been decided when the four oldest cousins were little by the three Halliwell women, said that they could engage in offensive demon fighting once they were sixteen. The ages of the cousins were pretty staggered with the exception of Melinda and the twins, who were all 18. One by one, the cousins came to the age where they were allowed to hunt demons. They were with the adults at first, until there were enough older cousins that the adults trusted them to look after the ones who were less experienced. It was never a problem for the younger ones who couldn't fight yet. They knew their time would come. It wasn't until three of the four youngest Halliwells turned sixteen in one year that things got to be an issue. Phoenix was suddenly all by herself.

"It's not like it's a party or anything." Chris said a bit too harsh. "We do this because we have to. Haven't you learned that yet? Did what happened last week mean nothing to you?"

Prue was startled by Chris's tone. She shot Wyatt an inquiring look. He was close enough to whisper an answer without anyone else hearing. "The whole wedding planning has really got him wound up. He and Bianca fight about everything. Not only that, but he really would like to have a honeymoon and not be worried about all of us. Phoenix's little stunt last week really freaked him out."

Prue gave him a cheerless smile. "Phoenix's little stunt freaked us all out, especially my mom. If she ever pulls something like that again…" Prue shook her head with disapproval. She let her sentence hang, not exactly sure what she would do. Wyatt understood. Phoenix had given them all a scare. As difficult as she was being, they all still cared about her. The thought of losing her like they almost did last week gave them all something to worry about. The horrid images of that night were permanently burned into Prue's memory.

_The battle had been going well in their favor. Only about ten demons were left. Prue was so distracted with a demon that she didn't see the one coming behind her until it was almost too late. She did notice him, however, and quickly tried to freeze him, but someone got in her way and hit him with a potion that killed him. Prue, assuming she now owed one of her cousins big time for that, continued to fight until she realized it hadn't been one of her cousins. It was Phoenix! She spun around and grabbed Phoenix by the arm. _

_"What are you doing here?" She demanded. "This is way too dangerous."_

_"I'm helping!" Phoenix said, pulling herself free from Prue's grip. "I can help. I just saved you from that demon."_

_"Phoenix, you're not experienced enough to be in these kinds of fights. You'll get hurt too easily." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Prue felt the all-too-familiar pain of being hit by an energy ball. She flew backwards into a brick wall, clutching her shoulder now covered in blood. She was pretty sure it was dislocated, too._

_"Prue!" Phoenix screamed and ran to her sister. She was crouched over her, eyes wide with panic. "I'll get Wyatt." _

_"No. I'm fine. Get out of here, Phoenix. Go home." Prue slowly was trying to get on her feet, but every inch of her body was screaming at her to lie still. The pain hurt, but it was bearable. She'd been through worse. _

_"No, I'll go get help." Phoenix said, rushing off before Prue could stop her. Prue tried to grab her, but Phoenix was too quick. Prue pushed herself off the ground and started towards Phoenix, hoping to get her to Sophie and have her orb Phoenix away from the battle. Before she could reach her, Prue watched in horror as a demon sent Phoenix flying through a glass window that fell two or three stories. _

_As her heart raced with fear, Prue scanned the scene for one of her Whitelighter cousins. She could do nothing to help Phoenix now. She needed someone who could heal. Prue locked eyes with Chris who was standing ten feet away. The look on his suddenly pale face told Prue he had seen what happened. He was gone in a swirl of bluish-white lights. _

Prue, what's going on? _Said a voice inside her head. Prue knew it was her cousin Scarlet using her telepathy to communicate with her._

Scarlet, I need you to tell everyone to regroup and meet back at the manor. Somebody's hurt. _Prue thought this, knowing Scarlet would pick up on it. Within a few seconds, Scarlet had telepathically informed everyone. Prue ran to Sophie, the nearest one who could orb her out of there. They all arrived at the manor about the same time. Prue frantically glanced around the attic, searching for Chris and Phoenix, but they weren't there yet._

_"Prue, what wrong? Who's hurt?" Warren asked with concern filling his voice. _

_Chris orbed into the attic with an unconscious Phoenix in his arms. She was covered in blood and Prue was sure she must be dead. _

_"Oh my god!" Sophie exclaimed with much alarm. Nearby, Portia shook her head in denial. _

_"What was she doing there?" she cried. She tried to go to her sister, but Melinda grabbed her. "Don't. There's nothing you can do for her." Mel's voice as tight with agony. _

_Chris ignored all of them and placed Phoenix gently on the couch. "Help me!" he begged, placing his hands over Phoenix's lifeless form. Wyatt sprung into action, pushing past Melinda and also placing his hands over Phoenix as a soft, healing light came from them. Sophie knelt next to them, tears filling her eyes, and offered her gift of healing, hoping it would be enough. Soon all of the Whitelighters were surrounding Phoenix, ignoring their own injuries, while Prue, Portia, and Melinda looked on in fear. When Phoenix opened her eyes, Prue could finally breathe again, feeling like she'd been holding her breath forever. She'd come so close to losing her sister. She didn't ever want to have that feeling again. _

Footsteps could be heard coming from the stairway. They all turned to see who it was, except for Scarlet. Piper emerged from the doorway and found all nine cousins.

"Are you all about to leave or did you just get back?" She asked. There was an undeniable fear in her eyes that she couldn't hide. Her heart was always full of worry over the lives of her children, nieces, and nephew.

"We just got back." Melinda answered.

Piper quickly glanced around the group to see if everyone was alright. Seeing no one bleeding profusely or on the brink of death, she was grateful they had all returned together in one piece. She spotted Phoenix among them. "I trust you stayed home this time, Missy." Phoenix's eyes fell to the floor and a shameful blush covered her cheeks.

"Yes, Aunt Piper."

Drawing the attention away from Phoenix, Piper pointed towards the stairs.

"Dinner is ready if you guys want to stay and eat, but you need to wash up first." Piper spotted Scarlet's leg and made a disgusted face. "Scarlet, you better put a bandage on that. I don't want any stains on my carpet."

Scarlet smiled and agreed. Piper gave a look of wonder. She would never understand that girl. All of the cousins hastily agreed to dinner, knowing nothing compared to Aunt Piper's cooking.

Before long, they were all cramped around the dining room table, extending it as much as possible and even adding a small card table to the end. Leo was glad for the company. With Wyatt and Chris out of the house and Melinda busy with her own life, the three of them didn't often make it home for dinner. Not to mention Piper was busy running the restaurant. Having the house full with his own kids as well as his nieces and nephew for the evening made Leo very happy.

They were a boisterous group. There were at least three conversations going at once the whole time. Portia had everyone laughing so hard at what ever came out of her mouth. She kept the mood lighthearted and fun like always. Even after a hard time of battling out demons, she gave them something to crack up about later. They were always appreciative of her positive influence in their lives. Even Phoenix had begun to unwind during the meal, showing signs of having a good time.

It was an evening filled with laughter and love. Piper heart was nearly bursting with happiness. It was a rare occasion to have all nine of them together for a night. Though they saw each other often, most had lives that kept them from all having an open evening at the same time. As the hour grew late, Sophie was the first to leave, saying she had something important to take care of in the morning so she needed a good sleep. Nobody knew what she was talking about, but they let her go without questioning.

"I hope she's meeting up with a guy." Portia said as soon as Sophie had orbed out. "She hasn't had a boyfriend in a while." Her mind was always on her family's love lives, or lack thereof for certain cousins. It had something to do with being the daughter of a cupid and also that she simply liked to meddle. Wyatt chuckled a little at Portia's comment and was glad he had a girlfriend. She wouldn't be meddling in his life anytime soon. Right now, she had her mind set on helping Sophie and Warren.

One by one, the cousins departed from the manor, going back to their own homes. For most, that was still with their parents. For Wyatt, Chris, and Warren, that was the three bedroom apartment they rented downtown. Wyatt and Warren would have to find a new roommate to cover Chris' share of the rent once he got married and moved out. Prue was the only one who lived on her own and that didn't surprise anyone. She was the most independent out of all of them.

Prue talked Wyatt into dropping her off at her place before he went home and he agreed without much argument. As tired as he was, someone had to make sure she got home and it might as well be him. He wasn't too comfortable with her living all alone, but he couldn't control the way she lived. However, he could keep a close eye on her and make sure she was safe. If orbing her home was one way to do that, he would do it.

"Want a drink before you leave, Wy?" Prue offered, heading for the fridge.

"No thanks. I already had some drinks at dinner. Last time I tried to orb when I was tipsy, I landed unstably and fell onto Warren while he was on the couch. He wasn't too happy with me."

Prue laughed, remembering how Chris had retold that story for weeks after it happened. "I wish I was there to see that."

"I'll see you around. Call me if you need anything, Prue." Wyatt orbed out of the room. Of course, in the Halliwell family, calling someone didn't actually mean picking up a phone and dialing. It certainly came in handy to be able to summon the part-whitelighter members of the family just by calling their names out loud.

When she was all alone, Prue grabbed her laptop and started working on her paper that was due in a few days. She was attending a local college in San Francisco and was majoring in psychology. Much like her mom, Prue had inherited the power of empathy and wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps. She was happy with the direction her life was going. She had been a bit of a mess a few months ago when her long-time boyfriend broke up with her, but she was moving on.

She took a break from her paper to get up and grab a drink from the kitchen. She was in the doorway leading into the living room when she spotted a demon coming for her. She didn't react quickly enough and he hit her with a fire ball. She flew back into the kitchen counter, but used it to regain her balance and steady herself. This time she threw her hands up in a motion she'd seen her Aunt Piper do a hundred times and the demon blew up. With him gone, she sunk down to the floor and felt pain rip through her torso. Her breathe came quick and ragged. She didn't want to move for fear of making it worse.

"Wyatt!" She called. She had dealt with many injuries in her life because of what her family did on a daily basis. She could tell this one was bad. She waited for a while, but Wyatt didn't show. "Chris! Warren!" She shouted. If one of them didn't come, she'd kill all of them later. Time lengthened and the pain increased. Where were they? "Scarlet! Sophie!" There was no way she could even get to her phone to call Portia. Not that her sister would be able to do anything, but it would be nice to at least have someone there. Maybe Portia would have better luck tracking down one of their cousins.

Prue saw a swirl of bluish-white lights from the living room and knew someone had come. "It's about time you got here." She muttered.

"That's funny, I didn't think you'd want me here."

Prue stiffened. "Why are _you_ here, Logan. I don't recall yelling your name."

Logan Bishop stepped into the kitchen and saw Prue on the ground. He was a whitelighter who had been assigned to watch over Prue ad her sisters. "You're injured and in need of my assistance." He said, coming closer to heal her. Prue pushed his hand away. Ever since he had showed up, he'd just been a pain in the neck. No matter what she said, he wouldn't go away.

"I don't need a whitelighter when I've got six in the family!" Prue snapped.

"If that's true, where are they now?" Logan asked, feeling he had made his point.

"They're coming. Just as soon as they can." She insisted. Logan just stared at her in sheer exasperation.

"Are you so stubborn that you will sit here in pain, possibly dying, waiting until your family comes instead of letting me heal you right now?"

"Don't be so dramatic. Do you really think if I was dying that I would be able to put up such a fight?"

"Oh, I wouldn't put anything past you, Miss Halliwell." He let out a sigh of frustration. "Just let me heal you and I'll leave you alone!"

"Fine." Prue said bitterly. Logan places his hands gently over her side and soon a healing glow came from them. As he was finishing, Wyatt appeared.

"Prue, are you ok?" Wyatt asked, his eyes shifting from Logan to his cousin.

"She'll be fine." Logan said. He stood to his feet and was gone in an instant. Warren showed up, full of concern. "Are you alright?"

Prue glared at both of the boys. "What took you so long?"

Warren reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. "I got here as soon as I could. You see, Scarlet got attacked by a demon so I went to help her."

"And I got called by Melinda, who it turns out took a hard blow from a demon battle as well."

"Alright. You two are off the hook." Prue said. She could hardly blame them for letting their baby sisters take priority. "But where are the others?"

"We were going to tell you about that. Sophie got a premonition right around the time of the attacks and she came to warn us, but she was too late. Luckily you three are all fine. But when Sophie touched Scarlet after the attack, she got another premonition and she's called for a family meeting." Warren explained.

"She says it's about the attacks. They were trying to send a message. Well, actually, they were sending us a warning." Said Wyatt. Prue narrowed her eyes.

"Who's "they"?" She asked.

"That's just it," Warren threw up his hands. "We don't know."


	2. Author's note

To my readers,

I'm sorry for such a long break from the story. It's been one distraction after another and right now I don't have a computer of my own since mine died and I lost all my files. So now I will have to start from scratch with the next updates, which were almost done I'm sad to say. I hate to make you wait even longer but wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned the story and will be back to it as soon as possible. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 2

**Wow. It's been over a year since I've updated this story. I'm sure anyone following this thought it was abandoned. So sorry! I love this story, I just had other stories to work on. To make up for it, this is a long one! If you're just tuning in, I hope you like this story. Please leave a review! thanks guys! **

* * *

Chapter 2

It was early afternoon when Sophie orbed back into her bedroom, finding her sister waiting impatiently for her. She had hoped to dodge Scarlet all day, but there didn't seem to be a chance of that now. Before she could slip up, Sophie began to sing a song in her head, knowing if Scarlet channeled in on her thoughts, the truth would come out. Being Scarlet's twin, Sophie had leaned a thing or two about keeping her thoughts private from her mind-reading sister. Scarlet's eyebrows furrowed together as she realized what Sophie was doing.

"Oh come on, Soph, just tell me where you were." Scarlet begged. "You leave dinner early last night and then disappear this morning. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you yet." Sophie said adamantly. She reached for her hairbrush and ran it through her long brown hair. Scarlet – who was stretched out on Sophie's bed on her stomach with a pillow under her chin – propped herself up on one elbow and chucked the pillow at Sophie's back.

Sophie eyed Scarlet in the mirror without turning around and smiled condescendingly. "Now that was childish."

"Oh, stop acting like the big sister." Scarlet complained.

"I _am _the big sister." Sophie pointed out with a laugh. Scarlet rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Sophie. I'm your only sister and your _twin_. We tell each other everything. Why the big secret?"

Sophie sighed and dropped her eyes. "Can't I be allowed one secret for myself, Scarlet?"

"Nope." Scarlet said, smiling annoyingly. "Not allowed."

Sophie picked the pillow up from the floor and whipping it at Scarlet's head. "You are a pain in the butt, you know that?"

"I know. Its part of my charm."

"Yeah, whatever. Would you get out of my room already?"

Scarlet agreed to leave, thinking to herself that she would catch Sophie's thoughts at some point. Finally Sophie was alone but knew not to drop her guard just yet. She began to hum the song that had been playing in her head.

* * *

"Melinda, table six is looking like they are ready to order." Piper informed her daughter. The restaurant was bustling with activity as the lunch hour crowd had come in. Melinda scurried over quickly to her table. Piper loved having Melinda working for her. Melinda shared her love of cooking and someday, Piper wanted her to take over the business, but right now her daughter was too young to be a cook and worked as one of the waitresses.

Melinda rushed to the kitchen with tables six's orders. She loved working here, despite the occasional rude costumer. It was normal, unlike much of her life. It was the one place she felt safe and free to be herself. Yes, she considered her true self apart from her identity as a witch. Of course, She could never say that to any of her cousins or brothers. Only her mother knew how she felt. Piper assured her that it was natural to desire a normal life and that in a couple years, her brothers and cousins might share the same feelings. She was just an early bloomer of sorts. _I doubt that. _Melinda thought. Her brothers and cousins were the most talented and dedicated young witches she knew. There was no way that someone like Scarlet or Wyatt would give up their magical lifestyle for something normal. Besides, they were a team, a well-oiled machine. Each one of them brought something different to the table. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses and how each other handled themselves in a fight. If one of them were to walk out on the 'family business' as Scarlet called it, the team would have a weak spot, a crack in its foundation. Mel couldn't be the one to do that to the family. She was a valuable part of the well-oiled machine. So she spent time at the restaurant dreaming of a normal life and then pushed all thoughts of that out of her head when it came time to fight. She had parts of her life that were normal and that would have to be enough for now.

* * *

"What do you think about this color? I like it, but I'm not sure it will work." Bianca turned to Chris, but his attention was miles away. She put down the color choices. They were deep in wedding planning, but Chris had mentally checked out a little while ago, right after they were discussing honeymoon plans.

"Chris? Hello?"

Chris snapped out of his reverie and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Where were we?"

"Never mind. How about you tell me what's got you so preoccupied?"

"I'm worried." Chris admitted, but didn't expound on it.

"About…?" Bianca prompted.

Chris sighed. "Melinda and my cousins. I worried about leaving them."

"Chris, they can survive without you for a little while, you know. They're strong enough and smart enough to look after themselves."

"Not Phoenix." Chris said sharply. Bianca sighed and grabbed his hand.

"First of all, you're not responsible for what happened to Phoenix. You saved her life. Second of all, I think you're being a little hard on her and a little hard on yourself. Trust Phoenix to have learned her lesson and cut yourself some slack."

Chris locked eyes with Bianca and smiled just a little. It was enough to let her know he'd heard what she was saying. Now he just had to accept what she was saying as true. "I love you, B." He murmured. She smiled back at him.

"I know. Now, help me pick a color."

* * *

Portia headed down the stairs and into the kitchen for lunch. She grabbed the loaf of bread and was about to go to the fridge to get lunch meat when a portal opened up on the wall and Phoenix ran out of it and nearly knocked Portia over.

"Watch it!" Portia growled. She let her breath out in a huff and made Phoenix move out of the way of the fridge.

"Sorry." Phoenix said quickly, with no sincerity in her voice. She had the power of teleporting, but unlike how her Whitelighter cousins orbed around, Phoenix had the ability to create portals. It required slightly more effort than orbing. With a simple wave of the hand, a portal could pop up on just about any surface.

"Whatever." Portia grabbed her ingredients and began to prepare her sandwich.

"So what's this thing you wanted to talk to Mom and dad about?" Phoenix asked casually. Portia spun around to face her sister.

"Were you spying on my again?" She demanded.

"No. Well, maybe a little. I just overheard you talking to Prue on the phone about needing to talk to Mom and Dad about something."

Portia glared at her nosy little sister. "Well, it's none of your business."

"Oh, come on. If you know and Prue knows and you're telling Mom and Dad, then I am the only one that doesn't know. It's not fair. I get left out of enough things as it is."

"Quit whining. You'll know soon enough." Portia said with no sympathy for Phoenix.

"Know what?" Phoebe asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Umm nothing." Portia said, sending a warning glance to Phoenix to let this go, but Phoenix was not in the complying mood.

"Portia knows something big and she won't tell me, but she's planning on telling you and Dad, just not me." Phoenix said quickly before Portia could stop her. She sent a smug look to her sister when she was finished.

"What's going on, Portia?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, Portia. What's –"

"Phoenix!" Phoebe snapped. Phoenix fell silent and Phoebe turned her attention back to Portia, who was looking frustrated and flustered. "Portia?"

"It's nothing serious." Portia said. "I just was going to talk to you and Dad later when Prue arrives."

Phoebe didn't want to, but she let it drop for now. Portia was never serious, unless it was about one of her sister's or cousin's love life. She wasn't sure she was going to like whatever it was Portia had to say.

* * *

Wyatt orbed into the attic, intent on figuring out something new about the attacks last night against Melinda, Scarlet, and Prue. He had no doubt that the targets were carefully selected. It was one cousin from each family. Other than that, they really hadn't made much progress in solving this mystery. Sophie's premonition had been vague and confusing. Heading for the trusty book of shadows, Wyatt found that Scarlet was already there, flipping through the pages slowly, carefully scanning each page.

"Hey, Scar. What are you up to?"

Scarlet glanced up from the book, her face a picture of concentration. She sighed.

"I'm trying to find out some new information about last night's attacks."

"You already identified your demon and Mel and Prue found theirs as well. Three lower level demons up to no good."

"I know. I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. Something just feels wrong about this whole thing."

"Something feels _wrong_ about a _demon attack_?" Wyatt teased. Scarlet glared at him, but couldn't help smiling also.

"You know what I mean. Three demon attacks in the same night, all three demons were different, and Sophie gets a premonition about how it was all a warning. It doesn't add up."

"So what do you think it's all about?" Wyatt asked. He had already formed his own conclusion, but he wanted to know Scarlet's. She was eager and bright and reminder him of himself when he was her age.

"I think it's all one elaborate plan put in place by someone or something very powerful. Think about it. Three demons of different origins working together? That's rare. There's no way all three attacks were coincidence. Someone told them to do it, who to attack, where to find us."

"Impressive, Scar." Wyatt said with a smile.

"You think so?" She looked up to Wyatt. They all did. He was the oldest and bravest, but also quick to listen and help.

"Yeah, I think you're on to something. I came here today to work on cracking this demonic mystery. Want to help?"

"Are you kidding me?" She grinned. "Where do we start?"

* * *

Prue had come home around 2 in the afternoon and went into the living room with Phoebe, Coop, and Portia, but Phoenix watched enviously from the top of the stairs. At least from her vantage point, she could see most of what happened and hear everything crystal clear.

"What's this about, girls?" Phoebe asked. "Portia has been so secretive all morning."

"It's not a huge deal, Mom. I just wanted to wait until Prue was here." Portia explained. In all honesty, she really didn't think it was a big deal, but she had a feeling that her mother would.

"Go on." Said Coop, eager to hear what this was about.

"Well, I've been talking with Prue a lot lately and we both think it would be a good idea for me to move in with her."

Coop's expression was unreadable and Portia wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Phoebe's look spoke for itself that she was not at all comfortable with this idea. Phoebe had to stop herself from shouting "Absolutely not!" when she heard the news. Portia was nineteen. She wasn't a child anymore.

"Why?" Phoebe begged to know. "You know I worry about Prue enough as it is. I don't want to always have to worry about you."

"Mom, don't play the guilt card." Prue cut in. She and Phoebe had a strained relationship at times. They didn't always see eye to eye. "Portia is going to the same college as me and my apartment is closer to it than this house. That's huge for those of us without supernatural transportation."

"Mom, most of my friends have already moved out of their parents' homes. I think I'm ready to go out on my own a little."

"But not completely alone, because she'll have me." Prue added.

Phoebe sighed. "Those are all very good reasons, but I just don't feel comfortable with you leaving to go live in an apartment downtown. We let you live here rent free and the only thing you have to do is your own laundry and it's in a safer location."

"Demon attacks happen everywhere, not just in shady locations." Prue pointed out. Portia could see the tension rising between her sister and mom.

"Alright. Prue, thank you for your support, but I've got it from here." Portia said calmly. "Mom, my desire to move out has nothing to do with feeling like I'm being treated like a child here or wanting to seek out danger in dark alleys near the apartment. I'm nineteen and I've lived with you and Dad for a year longer than most people my age. It has been wonderful and I really appreciate that you don't make me pay rent while I'm working and going to school. But I want to spend more time with my big sister and I want to know what it's like to live on my own…"

"But like I said earlier, not completely alone." Prue cut in.

"Yes, thank you, Prue." Portia said with a smile and slight shake of her head. She looked Phoebe in the eye as she continued. "Mom, I just need to do this for me. And I know that if I ever screw up and need to come back home, you'll let me. Please just understand why I need to do this."

Phoebe locked eyes with Portia. She didn't want to let Portia go. She was the lovable middle child that kept arguments at bay and laughter always coming.

"What about Phoenix?" Phoebe threw out as a last resort. "She'll be all alone in the house and she's really struggling with being left out of things as it is."

Before Portia could say anything, Phoenix' voice bellowed from the top of the stairs. "I'll be fine. More room for my stuff."

Portia rolled her eyes, not at all surprised that she had been listening the whole time.

"Nix, you can come down and join us." Prue called up the stairs. Phoenix didn't need to be told twice. She scrambled down the stairs and flung herself down onto a couch.

"Ok, continue." She said.

"I'm glad we have your blessing." Portia said sarcastically. "Anyway, I think everyone would benefit from Nix and I spending some time apart."

Phoenix nodded her head vigorously. Portia could normally get along with everyone, except Phoenix had a way of getting under her skin and vice versa. Prue was the only one who could talk Phoenix out of a fowl mood and since she had moved out a few years ago, Portia and Phoenix had been gradually fighting more and more.

Phoebe tried to think of something else to say to convince Portia to stay, but she was drawing a blank.

"I just don't know what else to say other than I don't want you to go." Phoebe pleaded softly.

"Mom…" Portia reached for Phoebe's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Well," Coop finally spoke up. "Portia, I feel like you were really mature in the way you discussed this with us. You've clearly thought this over for a while and talked with Prue about it. Even though I'm not at all eager to have you out of the house, I feel like you might be ready to take that step. However, this is all very sudden and I feel like we should have time to digest this and talk about it as a family again in the near future."

Portia smiled at her dad. He was giving his blessing but also trying to give Phoebe some time to work through it.

"Can be part of the next meeting?" Phoenix piped up.

"Like we could keep you from eavesdropping if you weren't." Portia said.

"Of course you can." Prue told her. Phoenix beamed at Prue.

* * *

Sophie glanced down the hallway to see if Scarlet was around. She hadn't seen her since she'd thrown her out of her room this afternoon so maybe she's gone somewhere else. Either way, the coast was clear and Sophie proceeded to make her way down the hall to the stairs. She spotted her mom almost immediately.

"Mom?"

Paige had just returned from helping a charge and hadn't been home all day. She saw Sophie and smiled excitedly.

"Soph! How was it?"

Sophie returned her mother's smile with one of her own. "It was so amazing!" It felt good to talk about. Hell, even to think about it.

Paige grabbed Sophie and gave her a tight hug. "Come on, tell me all about it. I want to know everything about your first day as a Whitelighter with a real charge."

Words just spilled out of her mouth so fast, Sophie could barely stop herself for a breath. She'd been so excited about it, but hadn't been able to tell anyone all day. Only her mother knew of her decision to take on charges and become a full-fledged Whitelighter. Sophie may be part witch, but she connected most with her Whitelighter side. She was a healer deep down, but Scarlet was not. Scarlet was a fighter, a protector. She saw healing as soft, weak. She barely used her Whitelighter powers. Sophie wasn't ready to tell her yet.

She recounted everything to Paige, every little detail she could remember. When she was finished, she sighed contentedly.

"I'm proud of you, Soph."

"Thanks, Mom. You were with me today the whole time. Everything you've taught me about being a Whitelighter helped me know what to do."

Paige's heart swelled with love and appreciation for her girl. Sophie was such a good kid. She was wise beyond her years and had the maturity level of a thirty year old. Paige wasn't sure where she got that from. It certainly wasn't from her.

"Well, come on. Let's get dinner started before Scarlet and your Dad get home."

Scarlet showed up a half hour later. She came through the back door into the kitchen drenched in sweat.

"What have you been up to?" Paige wanted to know.

"I went for a run … to clear my head." Scarlet said between breaths. "My powers are increasing again. They're driving me crazy … with how uncontrollable they are right now." She complained. It was something everyone understood. A power increase made the powers go all haywire for a while until it was finished.

"How are they increasing?" Sophie wanted to know. Living with a mind-reader who could also throw their own thoughts into other people's heads was hard enough. If she learned to use mind-control, they were all doomed.

"I don't know. I think my thought-reading radius is increasing. I can hear from farther away. But I can't block things out as easily, so it's giving me a headache. That's why I went for a run."

"Dinner's almost ready. By the time you shower and get dressed, it'll probably be done."

Scarlet headed up the stairs and into the bathroom. Once she was gone, Sophie shot Paige a panicked look. "I don't think we'll be able to hide this for long." Sophie said. "She's going through a power increase."

"Soph, I know you don't think you're ready to tell her, but she's your sister and she loves you. Speaking as someone very experienced in sister drama, I think you should tell her soon before she figures it out on her own. It'll be better for her to hear it from you than to hear it in your thoughts, trust me."

"I know. I just don't want her to be disappointed with me or to look at me differently."

"She's your sister." Paige said again. "No matter what, she's got your back. Sisters always have differences and they don't always get along, but they always have each other's back."

"Ok," Sophie said. "I'll tell her soon. Just not tonight."

Henry came home just as dinner was getting put on the table and Scarlet had joined them again.

"Hey handsome." Paige greeted her husband. Her arms went around his neck as she brought his lips down to hers. It was a private moment between husband and wife, but Scarlet could do nothing to stop the thought that popped unwillingly into her head.

"Ew! Stop thinking like that with me in the room!" She whined. Paige laughed, having forgotten Scarlet's predicament. Henry wasn't informed though so he told her to stop being nosy and block it out.

"Believe me, I wish I could."

Sophie laughed. "She can't, Dad. Her powers are increasing again."

Paige, Henry, and Sophie had a good laugh about it while Scarlet sat at the table with her head down.

You laugh now, but just wait until I learn mind control." Scarlet threatened. Sophie was worried for a moment, wondering if maybe Scarlet really was learning how to do that. "Then you'll all be doomed."

Sophie realized how perfectly Scarlet's words matched her thoughts earlier and she realized Scarlet must have heard them.

"Yeah, whatever, Scar. You don't scare me. Now, pass me the salad."

* * *

Warren was sprawled out on the couch watching tv when a knock was heard from outside.

"Wyatt, your date is here." Warren yelled.

Wyatt emerged from his bedroom dressed in black pants and a nice button down shirt. His hair was styled and he had shaved.

"I see you were too lazy to get the door." Wyatt said as he walked passed him.

"I only answer the door for the girlfriends of yours that I like." Warren said honestly. He had a habit of being blunt, which Wyatt usually appreciated, but not this time.

"What's your problem with Jess? She's nice and fun."

"She's shallow and superficial. Admit it, she's your rebound girl. She makes you feel good, but you're not going to get anything serious out of this relationship."

Wyatt hated how dead-on Warren could be about certain things. He also hated that when he was, he had to point it out.

"I like Jess. I enjoy dating her and I'm not going to stop just because you don't like her."

"I didn't tell you to. I'm just letting you know where I stand."

Jess knocked again on the door. Wyatt said goodbye to his cousin and left with Jess. The evening was fine. They went to a club and had a good time. Just a good time though. Wyatt hated to admit that Warren had been right. He was only dating Jess to get over Sarah. Jess didn't make him feel like Sarah had. Jess was just a good time. So when the evening came to a close, Wyatt took her home and kissed her goodnight. He returned to his apartment ready to fall into bed and not think about his pathetic love life. He got off the elevator on his floor and ambled down the hallway. He rounded the corner and looked up to see someone standing in front of his apartment door. It didn't look like a threat. In fact, something about the person was familiar. He got close and his heart stopped.

"Sarah?"

Sarah Blake smiled nervously at Wyatt. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" He wanted to know. He hadn't seen her since she dumped him a couple months ago.

"I know I freaked and ran last time and that hurt you, but you told me some serious stuff, Wyatt. It was scary."

"If you can't handle the fact that I'm a witch that hunts demons and also a Whitelighter, then what are you doing here?" Wyatt said defensively. She'd hurt him deeply. He thought she was the one, but he opened his heart to her and she ran.

"It was a lot of information all at once, Wyatt. I needed some time to process that."

"You could have said you needed some time instead of just disappearing on me."

"I know. I know. It was stupid and wrong, but I was scared. I'm sorry."

"It's been months, Sarah. I've moved on." Wyatt lied.

Tears pooled in her eyes. "I know. I had to come back, though. I had no other choice. I'm still not sure if I can handle what you are, but I had to come back because, like it or not, we've got something that ties us together."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Whoa. Shocker! PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me who your favorite character is or how you like the story. I promise an update is already in the making and should be up withing a few weeks. **


	4. Chapter 3

**OK, so I've missed this story probably as much as you have, but it's back! With a new fantastic chapter! I'm hoping you all like this one. I had a lot of fun writing it. This one takes a huge step forward with the plot. Please please please leave a review! I love hearing from you guys. Enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 3

"_I'm Pregnant." _

Sarah's words echoed in Wyatt's mind. He was stunned. He'd never been so surprised in his entire life. Wyatt couldn't function for several seconds as the news sunk in. Sarah stood there anxiously watching him. She had missed him even if she was frightened by what he was. She loved him. She really did. It had just been so much at once and she needed to clear her head, but finding out she was pregnant had mixed everything up all over again.

"You're pregnant?" Wyatt finally spoke, needing to know if she was telling truth. She wouldn't lie, would she? This wasn't something to joke about.

"Yes, I am." Sarah said quietly. She still couldn't read his expression. She felt like she could breathe again when she saw the corners of Wyatt's mouth lift into a small smile.

"I'm going to be a dad." He said, filled with wonder at the notion. His smile faltered when he looked over at Sarah. "What does this mean for us?"

It was a fair question, but one that Sarah didn't have an answer to. She had left him so suddenly, hurting both of them. She wasn't ready to just jump back into things like they had been before she knew his true identity, but she didn't want to be apart from him either. "I don't know." She told him honestly. "I want us to be together, but at the same time, I'm still so… uncertain about some things."

Wyatt nodded. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. She had just told him that he was going to be a father, normally a joyful occasion, but he didn't just want to _have_ a child with her, he want to _raise_ a child with her. She was it for him. As much as he'd tried to deny that fact over the passed few months, there was no getting around it. She was the one. And she was carrying his child. Fate had intervened and forced them back together, Wyatt was sure of this. The only problem was convincing Sarah. She was so new to the idea of magic and she had every right to be afraid, but he had to find a way to get her past that and see that magic or no magic, they belonged together.

"Let's go inside and talk." Wyatt said, looking up and down the hallway and realizing this wasn't the place to be having this conversation. Sarah agreed and Wyatt opened the door for her. Warren was in the kitchen getting something to drink when he saw Sarah enter. He dropped his plastic cup and orange juice spilled all over the floor.

"Sarah!" It was obvious to both Wyatt and Sarah that Warren was more than excited to see the two of them together.

"Hey, Warren. How are you?" She asked with genuine interest. One of the many things that led Wyatt to believe that Sarah was the one was the fact that she got along so well with his family. She had fit right in and being an only child herself, she felt like this was the family she had always wanted growing up. She had especially taken to Mel as the sister she never had. Even Chris, who was overly protective of his family and suspicious of outsiders, had liked Sarah and was one of the people to encourage Wyatt to tell her the truth about their family. It had upset the whole family, not just Wyatt, when she took off.

"Good. I'm good. It's nice to see you." Warren noticed the strange looks on Sarah and Wyatt's faces. "I'm going to clean this mess up." He said quickly.

"It's fine, Warren. I got it. Just give us a minute?" Wyatt asked. Warren didn't need to be told twice. He orbed out of the apartment, leaving the two alone to talk things out.

* * *

"Ok, Sophie, enough is enough. I've kept my distance and withheld from reading your mind out of respect for you – and that is saying something with my powers so out of wack! – but you have got to tell me what is going on with you." Scarlet informed her sister a few days after Sophie met with her first charge. Sophie sighed.

"I want to tell you, Scarlet, but I'm worried you won't understand." She told her twin honestly.

"Soph, you're my sister. Just tell me." Scarlet pleaded. Sophie took a deep breath and searched for the right words.

"A while ago, I began talking with mom seriously about my future as a whitelighter. I know most of us identify more with our witch half, but not me. You know how I feel about all the fighting, hunting, battling, etc. I'll do it because I have to, but not with the same passion as some of you. I'm good with potions and spells. I'm even better at healing and helping others. That's why I wanted to try my hand at being a full-fledged whitelighter. So a few days ago, I got my first charge. Mom was the only one who knew until now."

Scarlet was silent for a while. "Wow. I had no idea."

"I know how much you love being a witch. You've said several times that it wouldn't matter to you if you were part whitelighter or not because either way, you'd still be the same kick-ass witch."

"How did it go? With your charge, I mean." Scarlet asked, not addressing what Sophie just brought up. Because it was true. She didn't feel any inclination to further explore her whitelighter abilities. It was soft magic.

"Good. It's been really good so far. I was nervous at first, but Mom says I'm a natural."

"So you're going to continue with this?"

"I hope to." Sophie told her wistfully.

Scarlet nodded and didn't say anything else. She felt it was a mistake. Yes, the magical world needed whitelighters, but they had plenty already who weren't half witch. Besides, she and Sophie weren't just witches. They were Halliwells. Since they were young, they were told how special and how powerful they were, but they needed each other and their cousins to stay strong and united. They fought the world of evil. That was their destiny. If Sophie gave up her witchly duties to devote herself to becoming a whitelighter, who else among the cousins would stray? This was just the beginning in what Scarlet felt was a domino affect. Next, Portia would be learning the craft of a cupid or Warren would be identifying with his human half and getting a job with the police to make their dad proud. If Sophie really kept with this whitelighter stint, Scarlet was afraid it would lead to the splitting up of the Halliwell cousins.

"So, are you ok with this?" Sophie asked after her sister had been silent for several minutes. Scarlet forced a weak smile.

"If this is what you want, I have to support you. You're my twin."

Sophie picked up on what her sister wasn't saying. "But you're not happy about it."

"Soph, we may be twins, but we've always been polar opposites. We're never going to see eye to eye. This is the best I can do." It was a brutally honest answer, worded very carefully, yet it still hurt Sophie to hear it. She drew in a shaky breath.

"Well, then, I guess that's that. Now you know and I'd appreciate it if you didn't go run and complain to Wyatt." Scarlet was surprised how quick Sophie had predicted her next move. Although she wouldn't call it _complaining_ to Wyatt. She just wanted someone on her side to help her out. But Sophie wasn't done. "After all, he would tell Prue because she's his confidant. They'll try to keep it hush-hush, out of respect for me, but they definitely won't just sit back and watch. It won't take long before Prue will tell Chris because he likes to fix things, who would say I'm making a mistake and try and convince me to change my mind. When that won't work, he's be frustrated and try to get Prue to do a gentler approach, using her powers of empathy to aid her in figuring out my feelings. When that fails, she'll tell Warren out of concern for me. Warren will of course feel that, as my brother, he can talk to me and sort this out, but he, too, will fail. Phoenix, because she's nosy, will notice how weird the older cousins are acting and immediately start to pry. She'll get nothing at first, but eventually Prue will cave and tell her because it's her baby sister and she has a weakness for her. And once Phoenix knows, everyone will know. And then everyone will make a joint effort to set me straight. And I really don't want to deal with that right now."

Scarlet was stunned for a moment after Sophie's rant. She cracked a small. "Wow. You pegged our entire family perfectly. That is totally how everything will play out. Wait, did you have a premonition about it?"

"Scar, I'm being serious. Do I have your word that you won't spread this around? I need some time to get my bearings and feel confident in my abilities before I face the whole family."

"Alright, I promise I won't tell anyone." Scarlet vowed sincerely. She knew this was going to be tough, because truth be told, if Phoenix was the worst with secrets, then Scarlet was the second worst. She loved hearing them and telling them, but this was important to Sophie. She would have to keep her mouth shut for the time being.

**

* * *

Three Months Later**

The wedding day had arrived. Chris and Bianca would finally be getting married. Leo watched his son expertly fix his tie in front of the mirror.

"Getting any cold feet, baby bro?" Wyatt teased.

"Not at all." Chris replied. "So your best man speech better be ready."

"Don't worry. I wrote it last night." Wyatt said with a wicked grin.

Chris rolled his eyes. He knew that wasn't true. Wyatt was an overachiever in all areas of life, but he didn't like to admit it. He had probably written the speech months ago when Christ first asked him to be his best man. Aside from Wyatt, Leo and Chris's best friend Dane were also groomsmen. All the men were dressed and looking sharp. It would all start very soon.

* * *

Warren's eyes scanned the sanctuary carefully. Nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be fine, but he kept a careful lookout from the back of the room. "I don't see any demonic forces at work… yet." He told Portia.

"Well, I feel like we've done a good job staying under the radar. I'd be surprised to find anything going wrong today."

"Still, you can never be too careful. This family has a history of weddings getting ruined by supernatural forces. Maybe you should run down to where the girls are getting ready and make sure everything is fine." Portia rolled her eyes, but went anyway. She wasn't used to Warren taking initiative. Usually Wyatt, Chris, or Prue led the roost, but all of them were in the wedding today. Not that she didn't trust Warren or believe in him, it was just different having him in charge. Phoenix looked around anxiously and Scarlet noticed her nervousness.

"Are you alright, Nix?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Phoenix said quickly. Scarlet read her thoughts and chuckled. Phoenix realized this and glared at her.

"Scarlet! Get out of my head!"

"Sorry, little cuz. But I understand. It's ok to be scared of being on patrol. It's a big deal for you."

"I'm _not_ scared. I just have never been in a real demon fight before and I might get the chance today since I'm on wedding patrol."

"I take it you're not counting the time you got thrown through a window and nearly bled to death as a 'real demon fight'?" Scarlet said as a joke. She caught Warren's look as soon as she said that. "What? Too soon?"

"Phoenix, just make sure you're focused today. Wyatt really fought your mom and Chris to let you help us out so we need you to be prepared and not let Wyatt down." Warren told her. Phoenix nodded and tried not to be annoyed with the fact that no one seemed to think she was capable to doing the thing she was destined to do. Except for Wyatt. He believed in her and he was probably the only one, but that was enough for now. She didn't admire anybody more than her cousin Wyatt so it felt good to have him on her side.

"He is a really great cousin." Scarlet agreed. "Very supportive."

Phoenix eye's narrowed in Scarlet's direction. "Get. Out. Of. My. Head." She said with clenched teeth.

"Sorry, I'm done." Scarlet promised, but she was grinning the whole time, which made Phoenix doubt her sincerity. Little did Phoenix know that she only made it more fun for Scarlet when she got upset. Warren shot Scarlet a look over Phoenix' head. _Leave her be, Scar. The last thing we need is for Nix to be in one of her moods today. We don't want to provoke her to try something dangerous. _Scarlet nodded, silently agreeing. Portia returned to her spot next to Warren.

"Everything is all clear. We should be set to go soon."

The ceremony started off without any interruptions, but Warren, Scarlet, Portia, and Phoenix kept a keen eye out for any sign of trouble from the back of the church while Chris and Bianca stood in front of their friends and families vowing to always love and care for each other. Melinda, the maid of honor, tried to discreetly wipe her eyes, but everyone could tell she was crying. Prue and Sophie stood up there also as bridesmaids. The four cousins at the back of the church were surprised to hear a loud thud come from outside the sanctuary. Scarlet listened keenly to the thoughts of those in the front of the room to find out if any of the wedding party had heard the disruption. No one reacted except for Paige in one of the front rows.

_Scarlet, what's going on? _Paige's voice came in loud and clear.

_Don't worry, Mom. We'll take care of it. I'll contact you as soon as possible. _Scarlet promised as she, Warren, Portia, and Phoenix headed silently out of the sanctuary, trying not to attract any attention from the guests or wedding party. Just outside the doors, the church split in two directions with long hallways that both curved around. As the oldest of the group, Warren snapped into action.

"Alright, here's the plan: I'll take this hallway while Portia and Scarlet go the other way."

"What about me?" Phoenix asked, feeling a flair of anger at the thought of being left out.

"Phoenix, you're the last line of defense. You guard these doors in case whatever is out there gets past us. If something comes, use your teleporting powers to send it somewhere else then run in and get Aunt Paige or Aunt Phoebe."

"I don't even get to fight it?"

"Phoenix! This is not about you right now! Do you understand?" Warren snapped. "Your job is to keep everyone in that sanctuary safe and you do that by making sure nothing gets in."

The seriousness of Warren's tone made Phoenix drop her complaints and agree. She stood with her back pressed to the sanctuary entrance as Warren bounded down one hallway and the girls took off towards the other one. On both sides, they disappeared around the corners. Phoenix took a deep breath as she realized she was really truly alone with the weight of being 'the last defense' resting heavily on her young shoulders. "Come on, guys. Please get this filthy demon out of here." Phoenix thought out loud.

Warren quickly scanned the hallway and each room it was attached to. Nothing so far but he was only half way through with it. He listened keenly for any sound of a demon or anything that would have caused that noise they heard in the sanctuary. "If this turns out to be a stray cat or something, we are going to look like idiots." He thought with a little laugh. He could already hear Wyatt heckling him about it at the reception. He stopped mid-stride when he sensed Scarlet calling for him. He orbed to the other side of the church and glanced around for trouble. He heard noise coming from one room just off to the left. He ran in just in time to see a demon grab an unconscious Scarlet and disappear with her.

"No!" He screamed and tried to lunge after them, but he was too late. He was breathing heavily and frozen in place, his frantic brain trying to form a plan. He suddenly remembered Portia. Had the demon taken her, too?

"Portia?" He called. "Portia!" There was no response, but the room was trashed and he began to sift through the rubble for her. "Portia!"

Buried underneath an overturned table and some other furniture, he found her with a giant bleeding gash on her head. She wasn't moving and he panicked.

"Please don't be dead." He whispered as he placed his shaking hands over her head. The gash went away and her eyes fluttered open. He let out a breath of relief.

"You're ok. Come on, try and get up." He helped her to her feet. "Tell me what happened."

Warren heard something behind him and freaked. Logan had orbed in and his eyes got wide at the scene he saw. "Portia, are you alright?"

"Yeah, we got everything under control here. You're a little late so just get out of here." Warren snapped. Portia didn't say anything as Logan got an irritated look on his face and orbed away.

"Where's Scarlet? Is she ok?" Portia asked. Warren shook his head.

"I didn't get here soon enough. I got here just as a demon was taking her. Portia, I need you to tell me everything that happened."

Portia nodded. "Ok, but first, we check on Phoenix."

Warren understood and orbed them to the front sanctuary entrance where Phoenix was. She was fine, but anxious. "What happened? Where's Scarlet?"

* * *

Piper smiled through her tears as Chris and Bianca held hands and exited the sanctuary. The wedding party followed after them and soon the guest began to file out. Piper spotted her nephew and two nieces standing off to the side with grim expressions. Just as she began to wonder about Scarlet's whereabouts, Paige rushed past her to the small group. Phoebe was suddenly at Piper's side. "What wrong with Paige?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to figure that out myself."

"Come on. Let's go talk with them."

They approached just in time to hear a frantic Paige exclaim "What do you mean you have no idea where she is? She's your little sister, Warren! You are supposed to look out for her."

"It wasn't his fault." Portia jumped in. "We split up."

"What!"

"We had to, Mom. It was the quickest way to find the danger and –"

"And how well did that go? Your sister is _missing_ because you felt like doing your job quick and easy instead of sticking together as a team. How could you be so stupid, Warren?" Paige spat out the words like venom.

"Ok, easy, Paige." Phoebe stepped in, placing her hands on Paige's shoulders. "I know you're worried, but the four of them did what they thought was best."

"Alright here's what you will do." Piper ordered. "Warren, take the girls back to the manor. Portia, did you get a good look at what took Scarlet?" She paused and looked at her niece, who nodded. "Good, then you know what to do."

"Book of Shadows?"

"Yes. If you find the demon, Warren and Phoenix will be there to help you with the vanquishing potion. Then you'll come find one of us at the reception."

"Not Piper." Phoebe interjected. "The mother of the groom will not be getting involved. You get me and Paige."

Piper shot Phoebe a look, but couldn't argue with her. "Alright. Now, get out of here and get to the attic."

Warren nodded and grabbed Portia and Phoenix by the wrist. Before he orbed, he shot his mother an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

"Just find her." Her voice was raw with worry and desperation and twinge of guilt for how she had verbally attacked her son. Warren nodded and the three younger ones were gone, leaving only the three sisters in the empty sanctuary.

"Paige, you can go with them if you want. Piper is really the only one that needs to stick around." Phoebe offered, sensing Paige's overwhelming fear for her youngest.

"I need to tell Henry and Sophie first."

"Ok, let's go find them and let them know."

* * *

"Did you find it yet?" Warren asked. Portia sent him a look.

"I've barely opened the book, Warren."

"I know. I'm sorry, I just – I need to find her."

"It's gonna be ok. We'll find her." Portia reassured him. "Now stop distracting me so I can find this bastard." Warren cracked a smile. Portia rarely got feisty, but when she did, he never questioned her.

"I'm going to try scrying for her." Phoenix offered.

"Good. That's a good idea." Warren said. Although he was almost certain that if a demon had his sister, he would not be present in this world, but the one below. But Phoenix was just trying to do something to help, and for that, he couldn't discourage her.

The three got to work while on the other side of town, Piper watched the wedding party get their pictures taken, smiling and laughing as if nothing was wrong. Well, for them, nothing was wrong. Not yet. Phoebe appeared at her side. Paige had found Henry and was telling him now about the fate of their youngest child.

"When do we tell them? And how?" Phoebe asked.

"At the reception, after toasting and everything. They should be able to enjoy it for a little while and not have to put on an act for Chris and Bianca. We'll pull them aside one by one so Chris and Bianca don't get suspicious. As for how, I'm still trying to find the right words."

"I guess just coming right out with it is best. No use trying to sugar coat the fact that their cousin or sister was just abducted."

Piper had to agree and the two fell silent, watching the happy faces of the wedding party. When it was over, the group got ready to leave for the reception. Piper and Phoebe shared a look and then went to find Paige and Henry.

* * *

They were getting nowhere and the more time that passed, the more anxious and upset Warren got. He was pacing the length of the attic muttering to himself, making Portia and Phoenix very concerned. "What's he doing?" Phoenix asked. Portia shushed her. "I think he's trying to figure out a plan. Just don't bother him."

"Trust me, I am not going near him!" Phoenix vowed. Portia sighed and slammed the book shut, making Phoenix jump suddenly. It was no use. She'd gone through it backwards and forwards with no luck. It had been hours since the abduction and they hadn't heard a thing from the rest of the family. It was probably a good thing at this point, since they had nothing to report. Phoenix looked from the frazzled Warren to the defeated Portia and knew they were screwed. She walked over to the couch, sat down, put her elbows on her knees, and plopped her head in her hands. She didn't bother to ask what they should do next. It was clear that between the three of them, they had done as much as they knew how. "I wish Mom was here…"

Portia couldn't help but agree with that. Any one of the charmed ones would do. Someone orbed in, catching all of their attentions. It was Sophie. She was still in her bridesmaid's dress, looking stunningly beautiful, but her face was stained with tears and she was only looking at Warren.

"Is it true?" She asked in a shaky voice. Warren looked at his shoes for a moment and didn't answer. When he looked up, there were tears in his own eyes. Sophie shook her head, wanting to deny it. Warren took a few steps forward and pulled his little sister into his arms. "I'm sorry." He whispered for her ears alone.

"We have to find her." Sophie said adamantly as she pulled away from Warren. She wiped her tears away and looked from Warren to Phoenix to Portia. "What's being done?"

* * *

It was a wonderful reception. Just a small gathering of family and friends. Nobody seemed to notice the select few of family members who were barely holding it together. Of course, all eyes were on the happy couple. Wyatt also was attracting a lot of attention. He had Sarah with him as he introduced her to several friends, making sure to show off the engagement ring. Sarah was showing now, too. Her dress she wore made the little bump obvious. Their engagement had seemed to come out of the blue for most, but the Halliwells knew better. Wyatt and Sarah were soul mates. When she came back pregnant and scared, they took it slow, trying to ease into some sort of relationship. Sarah had many questions and until all of them were answered, she couldn't be expected to move forward. But after a few weeks, after Wyatt was so patient and cautious about explaining magic to her, she finally broke down the walls she had so quickly put up when he first shared his secret. She knew her life wasn't going to be easy if she was with Wyatt, but her life was better with him in it. So from then on, they were together. For the first time since Sarah had told Wyatt about the pregnancy, he knew only joy because he had her back and together they would have this baby and raise it. The engagement followed a few months later. It was the only natural next step forward in their relationship.

Piper watched Wyatt and Sarah from across the room. It had been quite a shock to hear that Sarah was back and that she was pregnant. At first, being the protective mother that she was, she was worried about Sarah breaking Wyatt's heart again. It would hurt a lot more if she left again taking a child along with her or abandoning both because she couldn't handle their true identity. Piper didn't trust her, but that changed a month ago when she saw a private moment between Wyatt and Sarah when nobody was supposed to be watching. They were in the living room of Piper's home. Piper had just made some tea in the kitchen and was going to offer them some. She froze in the doorway and watched the scene unfold before her. Wyatt was seated on the couch with Sarah snuggled up next to him. His arm was around her shoulders and with the other hand, he rested it gently on her stomach. She pressed her small hands over his one and smiled up at him. It was there; Pure, everlasting love. She could see it in their eyes. They didn't look that different from when she and Leo had been young and in love, back when they had the whole world at their feet and their whole lives ahead of them. Piper went back into the kitchen to give them a few more moments.

After that, Piper was finally able to stop worrying. Sarah wasn't going anywhere. And neither was her grandchild. She was holding herself back from getting too excited about the baby, but now she had embraced the feelings once she had fully welcomed Sarah back to the family. Although they were young, this wasn't anything Wyatt and Sarah couldn't handle.

On this day, though, of Chris and Bianca's wedding, it was hard not to look back wonder where the years had gone. Chris was married and Wyatt was going to be a dad and have a wedding of his own soon. Melinda was growing all too quickly as well. She was hardly Piper and Leo's little girl anymore. Wasn't it just yesterday that she was born? That they were all little and happy and safe? Where had the time gone? And now they were all growing up and getting into dangerous situations. Piper wondered if Scarlet was aware of what was going on, if she was scared, if they were hurting her. Piper knew her niece was a brave little thing, but she still just an eighteen-year-old girl. They had to get her back. Someway, they were going to get Scarlet back.

Across the room, Phoebe approached Wyatt. She had a smile on her face, but it looked forced. "Hey, Wyatt. Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course, Aunt Phoebe." Wyatt and Phoebe stepped out of the big reception hall to where it was less crowded. "What's going on?"

"There was a demon attack today during the wedding." Phoebe began. This was the third or fourth she'd told someone and it never got easier. "Your cousin Scarlet was taken."

"What?" Wyatt was stunned. He let the news sink in a bit. "What's being done? Who's going after her?"

"We've got Warren, Portia, and Phoenix at the manor. They are working on it."

"I'm going to go and help." He decided.

Phoebe grabbed his arm before he could orb away. "Wyatt, I know you want to help, but you're the best man! You can't just vanish."

"I think Chris will understand. Have you told him yet?"

"We're not telling Chris about this. It's his wedding. He should be happy."

"Aunt Phoebe, with all due respect, don't you think he's going to be a little pissed when he finds out we didn't tell him? You can't just let him go on his honeymoon and come home to find out that Scarlet was taken, especially is she's…" Wyatt stopped his sentence. He was going to say still missing, but it just wouldn't come out. "Look, I know you want to protect him from this and let him and Bianca have a perfect, untainted memory of their wedding. But this is too important to keep from him. He needs to know."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she and her sisters had taken the wrong approach to this. Chris _would_ be angry when he found out if he wasn't told soon. Not to mention that he was one of the stronger and smarter cousins. They could use his help. "Maybe you're right…"

"No, with this, I am right. I know Chris. We have to tell him."

* * *

Sophie had brought back some momentum to the group when she showed up, but it was starting to fade. Again, they came up dry. It was especially disheartening the second time around because Sophie was usually so good at this. She didn't enjoy the fighting, but she was extremely smart and knew just about everything about tracking, casting spells, making potions, and such. So if Sophie couldn't help, Portia doubted anyone could. Except maybe the sisters. She would give anything to have Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige, and her mom here. But they were at the reception…

In a giant swirl of bluish-white lights, the rest of the Halliwell family appeared. Portia blinked twice to make sure she was seeing right. Yes, it was all three sisters, their husbands, and the remaining four cousins. Plus Bianca and Sarah. Portia looked at Chris.

"What about the honeymoon?"

"Cancelled. Or more like postponed until further notice." He responded.

Everyone was waiting for the sisters to do something. They were the glorified matriarchs of the family, the experienced and wise ones. There was a slight moment of hesitation as everyone simply stood there, but then in a flurry of motion, the sisters jumped into action, giving orders and designing a plan. They were a well-oiled machine, a family that was used to digging their heels in when things got tough and sticking it out together. Though the sisters may have fought many battles and seen many tragedies, this was the first serious situation many of the cousins had been through. They knew how to fight, but they had never been given training for finding a lost sister or cousin. This was all so new and terrifying. Even Wyatt, Chris, and Prue felt a little inexperienced as they watched their aunts and mom, and realized they'd never dealt with something like this before. They were the oldest cousins and usually expected to lead, but they were lost in this one.

* * *

"Master," a small, skittish demon carefully approached. "Grucian is back. He says he brought it for you." The master turned to face the cautious demon, which shrunk away as he did.

"Send him in." The demon did not need to be told twice. He scurried out as fast as he could. It wasn't long before Grucian entered with his prize. He dropped the load at the feet of his master and stood tall. His very posture said he was confident and proud of himself, and expected the master to react the same way.

"Did you harm it?"

"It put up a struggle when I tried to capture it, but no lasting damage was done to it. Only enough to bring about capture."

"Fine." The master said, not sounding as pleased as Grucian would have liked. "Prepare it for the ceremony. Make sure when it wakes up that it has no chance of escaping. It is a spirited one I am told."

Grucian picked up the body and carried it away. The ceremony would begin soon and after that, it was only a matter of time before the master's plan was set in motion.

* * *

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